My Favourite Scrivener Tricks

Last week, I asked my Twitter followers to vote for my next blog post, and Scrivener tips won by a hair. If you haven't downloaded Scrivener yet, what are you waiting for!? (It is a tad pricey, but you can try it for free for 30 days of use.) If you're still on the fence, here are my favourite tips and tricks for using Scrivener. (And if you want to vote for next week's post, head on over to my Twitter now.)

A couple years ago, I decided to take the plunge and buy Scrivener and I am so glad I did. My productivity has increased so much since downloading Scrivener, all thanks to its simple way of dividing chapters and scenes, yet making them easily viewable in one whole document. It was tough in Google Docs to write out a whole novel and then jump around to fix things in previous chapters when I couldn't easily find them. (Google Docs now has an "outline" view, which makes this easier to do, but it requires a few extra clicks.)

It's been a few years, and I'm still only using about 10% of Scrivener's features, but here are a few of my favourites that might help you too.

Project Targets

My first completed novel was over 140,000 words. I knew I wanted to bring the second draft to around 120,000 words, and Scrivener's project targets tool helped me keep that goal in mind.

This is what is looks like for my current project. I want to write 100,000 words, with at least 2,000 per session (for me, that's writing days; you can reset the session target to start over if you write multiple times per day, or it will automatically reset at midnight).

For my first novel, it provided a quick glance at my target and helped me stay on track. You can also add a "deadline" and it will automatically adjust your session target to how many words per day you need to write in order to meet your goal by the deadline.

Templates

I don't make as much use out of templates as I could, but they are a fun little additive. When you choose a novel format upon opening a new document, templates are already there in their own little folder to provide you with quick reference guides to characters or places.

This is what a character template looks like, and it includes things like: occupation, habits, background, conflicts, and other notes. You can also insert pictures for reference or add web pages to link to a Pinterest board or something similar. They're also easy to edit if you want to add your own categories.

Novel Format

Like I mentioned above, when you start a new file in Scrivener, you have a bunch of different options to choose from for the format. I almost always choose Novel With Parts.

This format automatically divides your manuscript into different parts - each folder will then have new pages for individual scenes. I prefer to adjust it a bit and have each new page be a new chapter, but Scrivener will do all the formatting in compilation when you're done, which is a lifesaver. If you choose Novel With Parts, it will insert a blank page between parts with the title for the new part (which would be the folder title) and each scene will be divided with a #. For chapters, it will divide it based on whatever the chapter is titled, and you can compile your manuscript into almost any format (PDF, etc.). It will only compile everything under the manuscript folder in the sidebar.

Name Generator

This is another fun feature that I only learned about recently. Scrivener has its own name generator! You don't have to go anywhere else to find the perfect name.

And it is a lot of fun. For this example, I chose Japanese, British, and American names with Literary and British surnames. I also upped the obscurity because I don't like using popular names in my stories. I personally have never used this feature, but it's there if you need it. You can find it under Edit > Writing Tools.

Typewriter View

A small feature that I've grown accustomed to using is the Typewriter Scrolling view. You can find this in both document view and composition mode. All it does is put the cursor to the middle of the page and scrolls up as you type like a typewriter (so there is always a permanent bit of white space at the bottom of whatever document you're working on). I find it easier to see whatever line I'm typing in the middle of the page, rather than constantly at the bottom of the document.

Toggle this on or off at the top of the screen.

Composition Mode

This is my all-time favourite feature of Scrivener. Composition mode (opt+command+f on a Mac or View > Enter Composition Mode) removes all distractions by opening only your current document in full-screen. Even on a Mac, the top and bottom bars disappear. This means you have to exit composition mode to change to another document in your manuscript (another chapter or your outline notes), which lets you focus only on the document in front of you.

(Here, have a messy zero-draft view of my current WIP!)

What's cool about composition mode is that you can change the background colour or image. I chose purple, because what other colour would I choose? But you can change it to a moodboard, aesthetic, or character image if it inspires you.

What I like so much about composition mode is that it removes the word count tracker from view (you can see word counts both at the top and bottom of Scrivener: the individual count for whatever document you're in, or the overall count for your manuscript by hovering over the central bar at the top that has the title of your current document). Composition mode makes it so that your focus is only the words you're writing, and not how many you're writing. You can still view it by moving your cursor to the bottom of your screen, but it isn't always there in your face. I find I write more when I'm not focusing on the number.

And there you have it. A few of my favourite features in Scrivener that might help you improve your focus and creativity. I love this product so much and one of these days I'll unlock its other secrets.

As always,